Residents of the Far East Side are beautifying and stabilizing the area, and they're looking for new neighbors with the energy and vision to jump in on the fun.

They're urging prospective home buyers to come to the East Tacoma Home Buyer's Fair and Tour of Homes Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It's a two-part event, with a resource fair at the Portland Avenue Center, 3513 Portland Ave., and a tour of move-in-ready homes nearby.

At the fair, reputable experts will be on hand to discuss zero-down financing, down payment assistance programs, FHA and rehab loans. They'll have information on credit repair, budgeting, and the difference between an appraisal and a home inspection. They'll showcase the homes that will be for sale in the next phase of construction at New Salishan.

They'll also introduce the community leaders who are revitalizing the neighborhood around what was once called T-Street Gulch. It's First Creek now, and it's a hotbed of activism and optimism.

On the tour, agents will show off homes in the $100,000 to $250,000 range. Some are bank-owned, some are new, and all are ready for buyers.

Organizers and supporters include the Women's Council of Realtors and Tacoma/Pierce County Association of Realtors, Tacoma Housing Authority, Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Tacoma Public Utilities, United Way of Tacoma/Pierce County, Tacoma/Pierce County Asset Building Coalition, HomeSight, and the Federal Reserve Bank.

For information, call Edwina Magrum at (253) 474-7083, or e-mail her at emmag@harbornet.com.

The Puyallup Tribe is sponsoring the event organized by the City of Tacoma Safe and Clean Team, Improving Livability through Home Ownership.
support from an A-team of sponsors and participants.

People arrested and jailed for misdemeanor crimes in Lakewood might have noticed that they're being bused between their cells and the courtroom.

On June 8, Lakewood began transporting its misdemeanor arrests from the Pierce County Jail to Lakewood Municipal Court.

Those inmates are brought in through a secured area, accompanied by two of Lakewood's finest. People in the courtroom are screened, just like at the County-City Building.

Kathy Westerdahl, Lakewood's director of court services, said the change won't save the department money. (Any savings is offset by transportation costs)

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Following the Black Water Cafe's seemingly abrupt closure last week, I finally got around to wandering off my beat a bit and seeing if there were any court filings that might shed some light on the death of the beloved caffeinating hole.

I found a law suit filed in December that starts to explicate a dispute in which Black Water was embroiled one side with its landlord and on the other side with its investors.

Investors Douglas Knudson and his wife Marilyn Ryan are suing Black Water and proprietor Rachel Moreshead for $44,000.

According to their complaint: they had previously invested money, then had a dispute, then settled their dispute with written agreement.

Under the agreement, Black Water had to make timely payments to the investors and to its landlord, keep business assets fully insured and keep the business solvent.

"Black Water Cafe, Inc. and Ms. Moreshead have had a history of missed or late payments, failure to keep insurance in effect and other failures to comply with the agreement," the complaint states. (Moreshead disputes many of the claims made against her in her answer to the complaint.)

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